Read the full article in the The Huffington Post here
As a dark skinned Black woman from a working class background, I became acutely aware of my difference growing up – first consuming British media and then working within it from the tender age of 16. This was, of course, a great opportunity and a privilege, and one that has put my life on a different trajectory from others from similar backgrounds. But it has also meant that I have had the experience of being the anomaly – often the only one in the room – and, ultimately, facing the battle to belong.
Encounters from the very start of my career – being excluded from a photoshoot which had included all of my fellow female presenters, or being frustrated by a TV executive having concerns about putting two black presenters on a show – are just some early examples of how I experienced the world of the media. It was a world in which I was a part and yet not fully part of. These experiences and others during my career are perhaps not unique to anyone who has felt different, but have in fact gifted me an insight and the ability to see patterns of exclusion, that to those unaffected go unnoticed.
Read the full article in the The Huffington Post here
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